Vladimir Putin talked, told jokes and got a little angry sometimes, but not at the person who invited him.
Tucker Carlson laughed and listened a lot.
During the meeting with the Russian president, the American looked interested but his expression changed a few times.
Especially when Putin’s promise of a quick history lesson turned into a long, angry speech that lasted more than 30 minutes.
However, Carlson mostly seemed to enjoy and believe what Russia’s president was saying.
Putin was in control of the meeting, and the person interviewing him hardly had a chance to speak for a long time.
Instead of confronting the Russian leader, who is accused of committing war crimes, about his invasion of Ukraine and false claims, Carlson changed the subject to talk about God and the Russian people’s spirituality.
A journalist held against their will.
The American said his meeting with Putin was a success for free speech because he was going where no other Western news outlets would go.
That’s not true. The Kremlin is very careful about who Putin talks to. It usually picks someone who doesn’t know the country or the language, so they struggle to challenge him.
Carlson’s statement also didn’t acknowledge that Russia’s president has been making sure people can’t speak freely in his country for the last 20 years.
He recently made it illegal to tell the truth about Russia attacking Ukraine.
Many critics, including Vladimir Kara-Murza and Ilya Yashin, are currently in jail for speaking out.
He took two hours in the interview before asking about Evan Gershkovich, a US journalist. He got taken by the police in Russia while he was working and they said he was spying.
Carlson said that Putin might let the reporter go with him, giving him something to bring back from his trip.
What Putin gave was a strong clue about what he wants back.
He mentioned a Russian who killed a criminal in a European city, which suggests that Russia wants to exchange prisoners for Vadim Krasikov.
A person who might be working for the Russian government shot and killed a Chechen rebel in a park in Berlin in 2019.
Putin said that talks were happening and a deal might be made.
We know that those difficult conversations involve three countries and probably at least two American prisoners, and this is not new.
Classes
The meeting at the Kremlin started with a lesson about history.
Putin wrote a long essay before the war that said Ukraine is not a country. He seems to have memorized it now.
He presented his thesis with a lot of passion, while Carlson seemed bored and disbelieving.
For people who continued watching, they got to see Putin repeating his best, confusing points.
He complained that Nato was moving into an area that Russia thinks should be its own. Putin said that we never agreed to let Ukraine join Nato.
However, Ukraine wants more security because it has a powerful and unpredictable neighbor like Russia.
Putin has always said that the big protests in Kyiv ten years ago were supported by the West and were like a “coup”, but they were not.
He also said that the fighting in eastern Donbas, which was started by Moscow, is like a war between people in the same country.
This is all part of how Putin explained why he invaded Ukraine almost 2 years ago. He said he was trying to remove any Nazi influences from Ukraine, but this is still ongoing.
Kyiv strongly disagrees with every part of it.
At one time, Putin said that the two countries will be friends again. They will get better.
However, I have met a lot of people from Ukraine who used to speak Russian before the attack, and they would often go there.
After two years of fighting with no reason and being attacked with missiles, many people have started using a different language and they say they only feel hate.
This is just one example of how Vladimir Putin is far from the truth and the real world. In February 2022, he sent Russian soldiers to Kyiv, hoping they would be welcomed as heroes.
Opportunities for peace.
It looks like Putin agreed to this chat because he is in a strong position.
The fighting in Ukraine has stopped. Kyiv’s friends in the Western countries have been unsure about giving more military help, especially the US.
President Zelensky just fired his top military leader, saying that there needs to be a fresh start and new energy in the fight.
The situation is unstable and uncertain.
Putin was very confident when he said that Russia is prepared to talk and make deals.
He wants to take advantage of any uncertainty among Ukraine’s supporters and any hesitations among Ukrainians themselves about continuing to fight.
Putin said that eventually there will be an agreement because Nato is realizing that they can’t beat Russia in a war.
It’s just Putin being his usual self and Tucker Carlson allowed him to do as he pleased.
Not all interviews have to be hostile. It is good to let people speak and show who they are. But this one really went all out with that idea.
No one questioned the main points of Putin’s statements.
He didn’t have to explain the missiles that hit homes in Ukraine and killed civilians.
The American did not pressure Putin to stop locking up people who speak out against the war.
Excitement is a feeling of being really happy or full of energy.
Carlson received an amazing celebration in Moscow. The TV hosts who usually criticizes the West as an enemy were closely following and reporting on his every move with excitement.
Russia felt happy and excited when it suddenly received attention, like a person who had been ignored and then suddenly noticed.
And it looks like Carlson was also affected by what happened to him.
His interview finished with Putin talking about souls after being asked about the supernatural.
Both men stopped talking for a few seconds, and then the leader of Russia spoke again.
“Should we stop now. ”
Carlson closed and opened his eyes quickly. “Thanks, President”
He didn’t know about the true facts of his full-scale attack, like the accusations of war crimes in Bucha, Irpin, and other places.
Tucker Carlson interviews President Vladimir Putin. (2 hours) pic.twitter.com/cfEcVFmlHW
— Every Movie Plug 🎬 🔌 (@everymovieplug) February 8, 2024